air line leakage

68camaroSS · 06-20-2010, 04:13 PM

can anyone offer suggestions on the best way to stop air line leakage on a Biondo pro start system. What is best to use on the fittings, tape or liquid sealant. They come with tape on them, and I tried liquid and did not have good results. Any tricks. I am new to this, and am using the small bottle, but it only last 2-3 races. I have checked the fittings for leakage and tightened. Is there any leak proof fittings out there. Seems like with all the technology today and the cost of these units, there should be a better solution than what comes with these units? Anyone else have this problem. thanks,

Chris Williams · 06-20-2010, 08:14 PM

I use liquid sealant on the threaded connections. Used to use tape, a friend told me he prefers the liquid. Seems easier to know you're doing it right. Don't need a lot.

The push connectors on the flex line can be bad, and they are cheap (Jegs or Summit has them) so replace them if they are the least bit suspect.

Buy a bottle of leak detector at the hardware store (in the heating aisle or near the gas line fittings), it's cheap and is way more "frothy" than any home-made solution I've ever made. Go over the whole thing, I guarantee there's a small leak somewhere.

I went the extra mile and put on one of the Dedenbear inline solenoids that only turns the CO2 on when the ignition is on. Not cheap, but haven't had a "dammit the bottle's dead" run (like we had at a national event last year) since.

HTH,
Chris

voltdr · 06-21-2010, 07:59 PM

I agree about the liquid thread sealer. I don't even have any tape. Also be careful with what you use to cut the air line. They make a tool for just that. It uses a sharp blade and does NOT pinch the line. Also I had a leak that was hard to find. It turned out to be the regulator itself.

TS310C · 06-24-2010, 12:28 PM

I had a leak ever since I installed my new Dedenbear air stop. Finally I went through and checked all the fittings that were installed at the factory. The push in type air line fittings they installed in the solenoids, etc were all hand tight only. After I went through and tightened all of them up I have no leaks. I shut the air bottle off a week ago and it still shows almost full pressure (in other words it is not leaking out the air that was left in the lines when I shut it off)

68camaroSS · 07-01-2010, 07:14 PM

Thought I would pass on my results. After doing the windex leak tests with air pressure on several different times with no conclusive evidence, and even changing all the hose fittings to a different style in search of the culprit, I finally resorted to the old school method of finding a leak, even a small one...... a bucket of water..... I dipped every air connection into a pan of water. I found one minor leak at the air tank where the large regulator fitting was attached to the tank. Although it was on very tight, there was still a very small trail of bubbles coming up, so I tightened it an additional fraction and it stopped. All the rest of the fittings tested fine. When I got to the pro start cylinder and dunked it, there it was, a steady stream of bubbles coming out the end of the cylinder that I was looking for. This was a brand new unit, you don't expect it to be defective, and is the last place I expected a leak. I am sending the unit back for a replacement. Hope this solves the problem. Thanks to those who replied.

06-20-2010, 04:13 PM	#1
68camaroSS Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: columbia TN Posts: 88 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	air line leakage can anyone offer suggestions on the best way to stop air line leakage on a Biondo pro start system. What is best to use on the fittings, tape or liquid sealant. They come with tape on them, and I tried liquid and did not have good results. Any tricks. I am new to this, and am using the small bottle, but it only last 2-3 races. I have checked the fittings for leakage and tightened. Is there any leak proof fittings out there. Seems like with all the technology today and the cost of these units, there should be a better solution than what comes with these units? Anyone else have this problem. thanks, Last edited by 68camaroSS; 06-20-2010 at 08:41 PM.

06-20-2010, 08:14 PM	#2
Chris Williams Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Woodinville, WA Posts: 401 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: air line leakage I use liquid sealant on the threaded connections. Used to use tape, a friend told me he prefers the liquid. Seems easier to know you're doing it right. Don't need a lot. The push connectors on the flex line can be bad, and they are cheap (Jegs or Summit has them) so replace them if they are the least bit suspect. Buy a bottle of leak detector at the hardware store (in the heating aisle or near the gas line fittings), it's cheap and is way more "frothy" than any home-made solution I've ever made. Go over the whole thing, I guarantee there's a small leak somewhere. I went the extra mile and put on one of the Dedenbear inline solenoids that only turns the CO2 on when the ignition is on. Not cheap, but haven't had a "dammit the bottle's dead" run (like we had at a national event last year) since. HTH, Chris __________________ Chris Williams 6304 SC, TD, ET

06-21-2010, 07:59 PM	#3
voltdr Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas Posts: 703 Likes: 77 Liked 90 Times in 49 Posts	Re: air line leakage I agree about the liquid thread sealer. I don't even have any tape. Also be careful with what you use to cut the air line. They make a tool for just that. It uses a sharp blade and does NOT pinch the line. Also I had a leak that was hard to find. It turned out to be the regulator itself.

06-24-2010, 12:28 PM	#4
TS310C Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Morton, IL Posts: 323 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: air line leakage I had a leak ever since I installed my new Dedenbear air stop. Finally I went through and checked all the fittings that were installed at the factory. The push in type air line fittings they installed in the solenoids, etc were all hand tight only. After I went through and tightened all of them up I have no leaks. I shut the air bottle off a week ago and it still shows almost full pressure (in other words it is not leaking out the air that was left in the lines when I shut it off) __________________ Ryan Koener S/G 310C

07-01-2010, 07:14 PM	#5
68camaroSS Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: columbia TN Posts: 88 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: air line leakage Thought I would pass on my results. After doing the windex leak tests with air pressure on several different times with no conclusive evidence, and even changing all the hose fittings to a different style in search of the culprit, I finally resorted to the old school method of finding a leak, even a small one...... a bucket of water..... I dipped every air connection into a pan of water. I found one minor leak at the air tank where the large regulator fitting was attached to the tank. Although it was on very tight, there was still a very small trail of bubbles coming up, so I tightened it an additional fraction and it stopped. All the rest of the fittings tested fine. When I got to the pro start cylinder and dunked it, there it was, a steady stream of bubbles coming out the end of the cylinder that I was looking for. This was a brand new unit, you don't expect it to be defective, and is the last place I expected a leak. I am sending the unit back for a replacement. Hope this solves the problem. Thanks to those who replied.